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WHAT we’re doing, and HOW we’re doing it!
December 31, 2018
Remove the front apron from a sidescreen TR, and more times than not you’ll find that the front
of the inner wings have been smashed and roughly beaten back into “shape”, and I’ll use that
term very loosely! This area is well hidden behind the apron, so for most body shops and
restorers over the past 60-65 years, anything which would make the car driveable again was
considered to be acceptable.
Expectations today are quite a bit higher, especially for Triumphs which have been restored here
at Macy’s Garage! It takes plenty of expensive equipment, and talented people with very
uncommon skills to make parts like this from nothing more than flat sheets of steel, but creating
something out of nothing is a challenge that we are prepared to meet each and every single
day!
December 24, 2018
The problem with quick research, is that the first findings you run across might be wrong. Take
the position of this chrome spear for example. This TR250 was here for a pre-buy inspection,
and this just didn’t look right but I wanted to be positive before including it in my report to the
prospective buyer. Whenever I need a memory refresh, I head to our extensive library for help.
But imagine my surprise when I opened Piggott’s “Original TR4/4A/5/6” and found photos of two
different restored cars, on the same page, and this piece of trim was installed differently on each
one! So this shows that you can’t always trust restored cars, as the previous restorer always
has a 50/50 chance of getting the details wrong (unless it was restored here!). So how did we
decide which one was correct? We continued digging and located several FACTORY photos,
and only then could we be certain that the trim strips had been installed upside down on the
wrong doors, both here and on the Valencia Blue TR250 shown in Piggott’s book!
December 17, 2018
Here are some seldom seen parts that you probably won’t recognize. They are the TR2-4A
brake/clutch pedal bushings and shaft, and I’ll be that most TR restorers don’t know that they
can be changed, or guess that they would ever need to be! But take one look at all of the rough
rust pits on the original shaft shown at the bottom of the photo, and it’s easy to see why you
might want to!
Most of you are probably pretty good about changing your oil once a year, and probably hit all of
the chassis grease zerks with a shot of grease at the same time, but have you ever given any
thought to lubing the clutch, brake, or even the gas pedal and linkages? The big workshop
manuals are quiet on the subject, but if you dig deeply enough into the owners’ manuals, you
might run across the following recommendation: “The oil can should be applied to the various
members of the pedal linkages, both under the bonnet and in the driving compartment”. From
the looks of this pedal shaft, I’d say that the previous owners of this car never found that
reference!
December 10, 2018
We are well into the restoration of this TR4, and fortunately the owner has been collecting parts
and parts cars for many years. He brought us two left front fenders, and both were pretty rough.
But fortunately they each had a good end! One was rusted very badly at the rear half, and the
front of the other had been used to stop the car against a hard object. The decision to marry the
best parts of both was an easy one for our talented metal fabricators.
Now if you are going to attempt a project like this, you need to measure about six times before
you cut, and then another half dozen or so times before you weld. This entire process took
place on and off of the car, using very long straight edges to confirm alignment, and then as a
final check it helps to just stand back and visually look down all of the lines before you ever
come near it with your welder! And the finished results? In bare metal it’s hard to tell that this
fender was made from two, so we have no doubt that the repair will be invisible once the paint
has been applied and the restoration is complete.
December 3, 2018
Here is a perfect example of why we simply cannot give estimates. When working on vehicles
this old, there have been a lot of “hands” on them before they come to us, and we often find that
previous work was performed without any consideration whatsoever for future service.
This TR3A needs a clutch. It should be a simple job, and having done hundreds of them you’d
think that we’d have no trouble providing an accurate estimate. But had we issued a quote prior
to the car’s arrival, we would have had no way of knowing that someone in the past has
“repaired” the rusty floors by placing a sheet of new metal over them. It’s not the nicest way to
repair, but better than nothing. Their big mistake was placing the new metal over the lower
mounting flange of the gearbox cover (and over all of the gearbox cover attachment bolts), and
then caulking the crap out of all the edges so that the “repair” patch can’t be easily removed for
access. I’ll also point out that they covered all of the body mount bolts too, so if the front
mounting pins for the rear leaf springs won’t slide out of the frame, we’ won’t have the option to
raise the body when we change the rear springs. Even now, with all of these issues discovered,
we still have no idea of how long the repairs are going to take (and cost) because we’ve found
ourselves yet again in uncharted territory!
November 26, 2018
Here we have the lower edge of a TR3A gas tank. Look closely and you can see that the lower
section of the tank has been covered in a layer of fiberglass, and this “repair” was applied along
the entire bottom of the tank. It’s no wonder that the owner complained of a strong gas smell
coming from his recently acquired and previously “restored” TR3A! Whomever performed the
“restoration” on this car in the past must have used fiberglass as their rust repair of choice,
because we’ve also noticed it poking through numerous rust holes in the floors!
Many of you who are facing a rusty gas tank will opt to order a new replacement tank, but I want
to present you with another option. We prefer to send all of our original gas tanks (no matter
how bad they appear) to our nearest Gas-Tank-Renu franchise for repair. They can save even
the worst original tanks at a cost that is usually less than the price of a new tank, AND the
original tanks fit better than a reproduction tank ever will! The nationwide lifetime warranty they
offer is a big plus as well, but in all the years we’ve been using their services we’ve only had one
single warranty claim, and it was promptly and cheerfully resolved!
November 19, 2018
Yes, you are correct! The TR4-TR6 door panel gaps NEVER looked this good when the cars
came from the factory! But this level of fit and finish is what’s expected today, especially if the
cars were restored here at Macy’s Garage. Many times we’ve had cars brought to us AFTER
they’ve been painted elsewhere, and the owners ask us to “adjust” their doors to achieve this
level of perfection. Sorry to tell you this, but the time to get the gaps this nice is long before you
put paint into the gun and start spraying. The fact is, there just isn’t enough adjustment
available to bring panels that are “off” this much into alignment. The fix is to re-make the body
lines by a combination of adding and removing metal (welding and grinding) from the edges of
the fenders and doors. Only by planning for this well ahead of the paint application can you
ever make them come out this nice.
November 12, 2018
We get a very large number of TR’s here that are in need of resuscitation after many years in
storage. In every single case, it is the fluid systems that need the most work, and the rubber
that holds those fluids in place. These trouble areas are always going to be the fuel system, the
cooling system, and the brake/clutch hydraulic systems. Once those three areas are
addressed, along with a “normal” oil change for the engine, gearbox, and rear differential, most
TR’s can be coaxed back to life.
For a good example of what happens inside the hydraulic systems, take a look at this TR6
clutch slave cylinder. The cylinder bore is heavily rusted, and no doubt the steel piston inside as
well. This car was sitting for “only” 10 years, inside a “dry” garage while this damage slowly
occurred. Imagine what problems you will find if your TR is stored for 30 years on a dirt floor,
inside a damp and drafty barn! Driving and maintaining your TR’s will always be better for them
than lengthy periods where they sit and wait for you to get back to them! It may also be better
for your own sanity as well. Have you ever seen a TR parked in front of a psychiatrists’ office?
November 5, 2018
We ALWAYS tell anyone who will ask, that if you are planning to purchase a TR4A, TR250, or
TR6, any of the cars with the rust prone “IRS” style frame (including the TR4A solid axle cars),
you absolutely MUST get under the car for a look at the frame before parting with your hard
earned money. This design frame is extremely rust prone, and there’s always a better than
50/50 chance that the metal termites have been at work. Some times it will be repairable, and
some times you will need to replace the entire frame. Here’s an example where someone paid
good money to have a rusty frame “repaired”. It has been “worked-on”, but it certainly hasn’t
been “repaired”! When you are examining one of these frames for rust damage, you’re not just
looking for holes, but for signs of metal plates or patches which have been scabbed over the
holes or weak areas to make it appear “repaired” at a quick glance. If you see something that
looks like this, I suggest you run just as fast and as far away as you can. There’s no telling how
much of the original frame is left under these “repairs”, and tacking a new piece of metal onto a
weak and rusty frame isn’t going to last very long. The owner of this car told us that it was ready
to “break in two” before he had it “repaired”. We think it’s still ready to break in two!
October 30, 2018
We normally won’t post to this page more than once a week, but this is so exciting that we
couldn’t wait to share it! Richard Lentinello from Hemmings Motor News just posted a piece on
our 100 point TR4 to the Hemmings Daily blog. Follow this link to read the article and see all of
the photos and comments on the Hemmings website: Triumphant Triumph
October 29, 2018
We were recently honored to have world renowned metalworking wizard Ron Covell here at
Macy’s Garage to present two days of his popular seminars for beginning and experienced
fabricators alike. Ron has over 50 years of metalworking experience, and held his first
workshop at his home base in 1993. That first workshop was such a success, he started offering
them on a regular basis, and soon started traveling the country to help fill the demand. His
workshops continue to grow in popularity, and over four thousand people have attended so far.
Ron markets a line of excellent instructional DVDs on his website www.covell.biz, and there is
also a link there to his YouTube channel where you can view short segments from his DVD’s.
His popular column, "Professor Hammer's Metalworking Tips" has run in Street Rodder
Magazine since 1995, and in 2000 a second "Professor Hammer" series, focusing on issues
unique to older trucks, was launched in Classic Trucks Magazine. Ron has written technical
articles for Street Rodder Magazine, Classic Trucks, Super Rod, Metalcrafter's News, Sport
Aviation, and Hot Bike magazines. His schedule for 2019 is already full, but we would love to
have him return to Macy’s Garage again sometime in the future.
October 22, 2018
Jeff lives in KS, and he stopped by last week on his way home from New England to show off
the trophy he won in the Great American Mountain Rally Revival. Jeff has owned his TR3A for
over 40 years now, and has close to 400,000 miles on the car, most of them his! We rebuilt his
entire drivetrain a couple of years ago, and he’s now got close to 30,000 miles on our running
gear. Jeff was full of praise for the power we built into his TR3 engine, and told us how he had
to use every bit of it going up some of the steep mountain roads on this 700 mile, 2-day rally.
Now in all of the years Jeff has owned his TR3A, this is the very first time he has participated in
any kind of a rally or motorsports competition. But now that the bug has bitten, he’ll be shipping
the car to Europe next spring to compete in a 5000KM vintage car rally over there! Look up
“Diehard Triumph Owner” in the dictionary, and you’ll surely see Jeff’s picture there. We’re
happy we could help him to continue “living the dream”!
October 15, 2018
George was restoring his TR3A at home, and doing a pretty good job of installing new floors and
outer sills, repairing the rear floor sections, and even installing a new trunk floor. But when it
came time to install the new replacement rear apron, he discovered that things just weren’t
lining up right and he wisely decided to call in the Cavalry! The rear apron is the most
complicated area on a sidescreen TR body, and it’s the first place I check for rust when
evaluating a TR2/3 to purchase. It’s a place where multiple panels join together, and they all
have to fit together like a glove if you want to have any chance of closing the boot lid or having
the fender, bumper, and body mount holes align during final assembly. It also doesn’t help that
the new reproduction panels are always off just a tick from original OEM parts, so you have to
know where to cut and modify the new parts or they’re never going to work. Fortunately, our
team has done this enough times that they could almost do it in their sleep, making a difficult job
for anyone else look easy!
October 8, 2018
It’s always fun to come in on Monday morning and open e-mails with stories of events and
photos of the cars we’ve restored. Last Monday we got this photo from Andrew in Canada,
taken at the Toronto British Car Day in Bronte Park. This is the largest British car show in North
America, with typically over 1100 cars and motorcycles in attendance. Andrew’s 1957 TR3
which we restored for him in the original (rare) color scheme of Winchester Blue with Grey
leather interior handily won the TR 2-3-4 class, and he was told repeatedly that if they had
awarded a Best of Show trophy, it would have been his as well!
In this photo you can see that Andrew has the soft top and side curtains installed, but this car is
also equipped with a factory hardtop and our perfect rear hardtop window. You can see other
photos of this car on our June 4, 2018 blog, the TR2/3 gallery page, and in the opening photo of
our HOME page. The Winchester Blue is such a striking color today, that I can’t imagine why it
didn’t sell well in 1957. With lack-luster sales, the Winchester Blue was dropped for 1958 and
replaced with Powder Blue, which then proved to be extremely popular!
October 1, 2018
It is very rare to see a broken crankshaft in the 4-cylinder TR2-TR4A engine, so when we find
one like this we know we need to dig deeply to find the cause. This engine was just rebuilt by
the long term TR3 owner and had only been driven 250 miles before this catastrophy happened.
He decided that he would be better off bringing it to us for a “proper” rebuild, and to help his
chances that it doesn’t happen again.
When the owner delivered the engine and all of his spare parts to us, he happened to have a
box containing an extra set of main bearing caps which he suggested we could use if his old
ones were damaged. BINGO! The light went on and we had the clue we needed to explain the
broken crankshaft. The owner/rebuilder had “swapped” in a set of main bearing caps from
another engine block, which is something to be avoided unless you then have the block “align
bored”, which he did not. The mis-matched bearing caps were not in perfect alignment, which
obviously put a twisting stress on the crank, resulting in the failure you see here. Since we don’t
now know which caps are original to what block, we’ll choose a set and have the align-bore
done to re-establish a straight crankshaft center line, so this won’t happen again!
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